In the manufacture of electronic equipment which employs integrated circuit packages, it is necessary to insure that the longitudinal axes of the package leads are oriented respectively at right angles to the planar package surfaces. This lead alignment must be preserved both prior to, and during the insertion of the leads into homologously arranged holes in an interconnection medium, such as a printed circuit board. The problems associated with operator handling of such packages become more acute as the package size, and hence, the number of leads, increase. Such leads tend to be relatively fragile, and consequently are easily bent or otherwise rendered unusable.
In an effort to minimize damage to the package leads, an actual manufacturing process makes use of a block of material having a plurality of apertures for receiving and protecting the leads prior to the mounting of the package on the printed circuit board. However, it will be appreciated that at the latter time, an operator must grasp the protective block and pull it away from the leads. Thereafter, the operator must visually align the package with its mounting position on the board, and insert the leads into corresponding apertures. Such a procedure is tedious and time consuming, and has the potential of damage to the leads, both during the removal of the protective block and the subsequent insertion.
What is required is a production tool which will grasp a complete integrated circuit package assembly, and, which under operator control, will eject the block protecting the leads in a manner to preserve the lead orientation. The tool should then facilitate the alignment of the integrated circuit package leads with the mounting holes in the printed circuit board, and finally, release the package in preparation for the next insertion. The present device fills such a need.